Stencil card holder



May 10, 1938 vJ. c. GATES 2,116,568

sTENcIL CARD HOLDER Filed June 2'?, 1956 37 ,//6 /o o OO L 37 1 'r fg l K 5 ow; o

o 5/0 nf /2/ o f/Z p f d Lef/4 u) @m gbl Patented May 10, 1938 STENCIL CARD HOLDER John C. Gates,` Downers Grove, Ill., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 27,

`3 Claims.

stencil cards or the like while they are beingln-l scribed. I I

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention a holder is formed of a pair of fiat plates spaced apart and adapted to receive a stencil in guides positioned between the plates. One of the plates has an aperture therein through which extends an extending portion of a table which is resiliently suspended between the plates and under a stencil card held by the guides, so that, when the holder is laid on a table or held in one hand in position to inscribe the stencil with a stylus, the table will be forced up against the stencil card and will form a suitable surface for the card which, when in position in the guides has a portion thereof engaged by the table and exposed through an aperture in the other plate.

A better understanding of the invention will be had by reference to the following speciiication, 25 considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is a plan View of a holder embodying the features of the invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are left and right end views, re-

30 speotively, of the holder shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows, and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like reference characters designate the same parts throughout the several views, there is shown in Fig. l a holder for stencil plates designated generally by the numeral I 9, comprised of a top plate II and a bottom plate I2 spaced apart by spacer bars I3 and I4, which serve to hold the plates in spaced relation, the top plate Il being secured thereto by rivets I5 and the bottom plate I2 be'- ing held in place by screws (not shown). The top plate is cut away, as shown at I6, to permit the insertion in the holder of a stencil card I1 of conventional form made up of a rectangular border of heavy paper or cardboard I8 having a sheet of chemically treated paper I9 supported within the border.

An aperture 20 is formed in the top plate II and has its longitudinal edges beveled, as shown 5 at 2l, for delineating the area of the chemically 1936, 'serial No. `87,688

treated paper to be inscribed-when the holder is u in use. Secured to the underside of the plate I I, by means of rivets `22, lare av stop member 23 Vand guide members and 25 which serve to locate the stencil card I1 inthe proper position under the aperture in plate Il. Also riveted to the underside of the plate II are` a `pair of L-shaped members 26 and 21 which are spaced from the plate II by the guide members 24- and 25, respec-` tively. `The L-shaped members have. a portion thereof extending toward the aperture `211 in` a manner such `that they will support` the stencil cards I1 in loose engagement with the under surface of the top plate II.

Resiliently suspended beneath the aperture 20 is a table indicated generally by the numeral 28. This table is composed of a metal plate 29 and a clamping plate 30. The metal plate 29 has portions 3| and 32 thereof bent downwardly to which a spring 33 and a wire 34 may be secured. 'Ihe o other ends of the spring 33 and wire 34 are secured to the bent over portions of the L-shaped members 21 and 2B, respectively. 'Ihe clamping plate 3U and metal plate 29 are secured together by means of a screw 35 brazed to the metal plate 25 29 and extending through an aperture 36 in the clamping plate and having threaded thereon a tubular member 31 which bears against the lower surface of the clamping plate. The tubular member 31 extends through an aperture 38 in the bottom plate, and when the holder is placed upon a table, or other flat surface, or when it is held in the hand in a position convenient for inscribing the stencil plate, the tubular member 31 will force the table 28 upwardly into engagement with the chemically treated paper I9 of the stencil card I1 to hold the paper tightly against the upper plate. As it is usual, in inscribing such stencil cards, to provide a roughened base upon which the card may be placed to make the inscription more clear cut, a roughened. Celluloid sheet 49 is fixed to the top of the metal plate 29 to provide a suitable surface for backing up the paper I9. The ends of the sheet are folded over the table 28 and around the depending portions thereof and clamped in place by the clamping plate BID. Thus the tubular member 31 serves as a nut 'for tightening the clamping plate as well as serving as an operating member for the table.

It will be apparent that the spring 33 will normally hold the table 28 in such a position that a stencil card may easily be inserted in the holder. However, when the holder is used for inscribing the stencil card, it will either be laid upon a dat surface or held in the left hand of the person inscribing the stencil, and in either of these positions pressure Will be exerted upon the tubular member 31 to move the table upwardly, thereby providing a suitable surface upon which the paper of the stencil card will be positioned. Obviously, the aperture 20 could be positioned in any desired position or have any desired contour for limiting the space in which inscriptions could be made on the stencil card.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, it will be understood that many modications may be made Without departing from the scope of the invention which is to be limited only by the appended claims. In the claims the term stencil is employed for convenience to designate the article upon Which the writing or inscription is made but it is not intended that the claims be limited to use only with articles known in commerce as stencil cards.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for holding a stencil While it is inscribed including a plate having an aperture therein, the edges of Which delineate the area of the stencil in which an inscription may be made, means secured to said plate for holding a stencil in position under said plate, means supported by said last mentioned means and operable to force the portion of the stencil to be inscribed into engagement with the plate adjacent to the edges of said aperture, said means operable to force the portion to be inscribed into engagement with the plate including a roughened member for engaging the stencil, a table for supporting the roughened member, a clamping member for holding the roughened member on the table, and means for adjusting said clamping member.

2. A stencil holder comprising a pair of spaced plates, each having an aperture therein, and means suspended between said plates and having a member extending through one plate operable to move a stencil card into engagement with the other plate adjacent to said aperture therein.

3. A device for holding a stencil While it is inscribed, comprising a top plate having an aperture therein, the edges of which delineate the area of the stencil in which an inscription may be made, a bottom plate having an aperture therein and being spaced from said top plate, means secured to said top plate for holding a stencil in position under said plate and over the bottom plate, means supported by said last mentioned means and operable to force the portion of the stencil to be inscribed into engagement with the top plate adjacent to the edges of said aperture, including a roughened member for engaging the stencil, a table for supporting said roughened member, a clamping member for holding the roughened member on the table, and means for adjusting said clamping member, said adjusting means extending through the aperture in the bottom plate.

JOHN C. GATES. 

